Nex Necis
by Miss Miasma
Summary: Murder: to slaughter in a brutal manner. Noun. Latin.
1. Remordeo: To Haunt

Chapter One:  
Remordeo _v_. To haunt; to have a disquieting or harmful effect; to visit or inhabit as a disembodied spirit. Latin.

* * *

"We are gathered here today to mourn-" Carter's voice cracked, having caught Ann's tear-filled eye. He gulped it down and proceeded. "To mourn the death of Cliff. An avid church-goer..." He continued, his voice barely audible over the muffled sobs of the few that knew him well enough to mourn his soul. At the end of the funeral, Ann stood over the edge of the pit, staring down into darkness. 

If any one else had remained, they would've seen her smiling as she fell downward.

* * *

"Ann's dead too? Not my Annie! No- I... I refuse to believe-" Doug slumped over the bar and Thomas put a hand on his shoulder.  
"Doug, I-"  
"The hell you do!" He pulled away from his touch, glaring into the mayor's eyes. "My wife, Thomas. My wife and now my daughter! My son-in-law. My life, dammit! My fuckin' life!" He pushed the mayor away, tears glistening in his eyes. He went to his room, slamming the door behind him. 

Three minutes was all it took to load and cock the gun.  
Three minutes. Crows scattered from the sound of the gun and not seconds later, a thud was heard.

* * *

"I can't take this... I-"  
"Carter. Relax. Please. You're scaring me." Popuri was at the church, her hand on his shoulder. "God will-"  
"God? God!" Carter laughed. He sounded insane. He sounded... "What has God done so far? Killed three innocent people? You know just as well as I do-" He put his hands on Popuri's shoulders, fingers tightening. Her eyes grew wide as he whispered the words. "_Cliff was murdered._"

* * *

"Oh you should've seen her! It was horrible. She was lying on the coffin- she landed right on top of it! I for one would never expect her of suicide but apparently she was the type. Ann! Our Ann? It doesn't make sense! She's so vivacious. Not the type to be that... oh you know what I mean. Honestly it was terrible! I never expected. And Doug! Oh he was a good cook. And handsome. But could you believe he had a gun? A gun! Who would've expected! Honestly it seems so far-fetched. I didn't know anyone in our village would be the type... well... who knew! But you know what I heard..." Anna's voice lowered. "Well... think about it. How did Cliff die? Do we even know? We don't now do we. I think-" She paused for effect. "I think he was killed. Murdered!" Her voice had gone up on the last word and she quieted, glancing quickly around. Her voice lowered again. "Who do you suppose could've done such a thing?"  
"I for one think it's none of our business." Sasha said stiffly.  
"Oh come now, Sasha! You honestly think it isn't our business?" Manna whispered harshly. Anna nodded.  
"We're the women of the village. It's our legacy to make sure every thing happens as it should. We're the life blood!" She cried passionately, nose in the air. Manna and Sasha looked at each other, knowing to keep quiet. "Something must be done!" 

But that's the thing with this particular gaggle...  
Though they are full of words,  
Their actions fall rather short.

* * *

"Please! Please! She's gone! Missing!" Barley ran through the streets. It was past midnight. The world was dark. "May's missing!" He ran. Running, running, running... 

The snow fell thickly in the air. Running... Running and running...

In the morning, Rick went out to feed the chickens.  
A scream ran through the air, sharp and sudden.

The villagers slowly gathered around the body, already stiff from rigor mortis, already stiff from unanswered cries.  
Barley lay face down. Dead from pounding, door to door, he died on his neighbor's steps.  
"Another dead... this can't go on!" Anna buried her head against Barley's shoulder and the villagers backed away.

* * *

Two days later, another cry was heard.  
Gotz came running along the bridge. On rare occasions they see him come to town. On rare occasions, they see emotion in those impassive eyes.  
Today was different. 

He ran along the bridge, carrying something, eyes wet with tears. He continued to scream until finally, he knelt down at the church's doors, pounding hard.

"What- Oh my God!" Carter fell backwards. There, on his doorstep, was a water-logged May, her facial features clotted in her death.  
"She drowned!" Gotz sobbed. "She was right there! Right there! Floating in the water!" He was screaming, his face red and wet. "She's dead! Dead!"  
"No- she's so... young... no!"  
"DEAD!"

* * *

"I'm investigating the murder. But I'm going to need your help Doctor."  
"It really was a murder then...?"  
"There's only one way to find out. 

We must dig up Cliff's body."


	2. Veneno: To Poison

Chapter Two:  
Veneno _v_. To poison; to inflict damage, kill, or make immobile by use of poisonous substance. Latin.

* * *

Harris stepped onto the muddy field, pulling on gloves. He nodded to the doctor, who simply shook his head.  
"This is crazy."  
"So is murder. Let's start."

They dug.  
Unearthing their first grave, two o'clock in the morning, snow caked to the ground.  
Dried blood ominously awaited them at the bottom. They winced at Ann's memory but pulled up the grave.

"One."  
"Two."

"Three."

The stench was the first thing to hit them. The doctor stared down at the body, face impassive. Harris however turned and retched, his back shaking. He came back, still looking on in repulsion.  
"Let's get started."

"Nothing." It was a few minutes later. Thorough checking, done by the doctor, and two dry heaves later from Harris and they had discovered nothing.  
"Then-"  
"There are other ways to kill a man, Harris. Secret ways. The neck's not broken, spinal chord intact..."  
"It was-"  
"Alcohol poisoning. He liked to drink, did he not?"  
"I don't smell..."  
"Neither do I."  
"So then..."  
"Poison." The doctor concluded. "The most obvious list of suspects?"  
"Well..." Harris blushed, trying to avoid the most obvious.  
"Me." Doctor implied. "This is a suspect case; we must be open. I did not do it. But I am still suspect." Harris nodded shakily, eyes met.  
"You. Basil." The doctor nodded and Harris went on. "Jeff-"  
"Jeff?"  
"He's... he's a store owner. He may know something..."  
"I don't think Jeff would do this. But... alright he's a suspect as well I suppose."  
"... Ann."  
"What? You think Ann could've-?"  
"She cooked his food, didn't she? Why did she commit suicide so quickly afterward?" But the doctor was shaking his head.  
"Ann's dead. May and Basil died after she did." Harris remained silent for a few moments.  
"This case may be harder to solve then I thought."  
"... We must perform an autopsy."

* * *

Karen lay across Rick, naked in their passion.  
"Let's open some wine, what do you say?"  
"I love your way of thinking..." Karen left the room, a smirk on her face. Rick laid on his back, smiling happily. "Damn I love her." He whispered to himself. 

The next morning, Sasha entered the room. The instant she did, she screamed.

Rick lay on top of Karen, in the very heat of passion, both necks slit.

* * *

"How did this happen? HOW?" Popuri demanded, sobbing. "Why! WHY!" Her knees fell from beneath her and she collapsed on the ground next to Rick's grave. Lillia cried quietly into her scarf, eyes closed, body racked with gut-wrenching sobs.  
"My son... my son! He was so much like-" She choked on her tears, a guttural sound. Popuri stood, wrapping her mother in a warm embrace.  
"I miss them both."

* * *

Gotz lived a quiet life. For the most part. But after May's death he was never quite the same. The only place he had ever gone to in town was the supermarket, but he'd always see the little boy and girl making their way towards the church. He'd always wanted to join them, to be like Carter was with them. But no longer. 

He stood. A chair finely crafted. He'd made it himself.

He kicked.

He fell.

He swung.

* * *

"Why is this happening!" Gray asked his grandfather, hands shaking. "This is crazy! _They're_ crazy! How can this happen?"  
"Someone's doing it." Saibara grumbled, his voice harsh. "Obviously. It must be put to a stop before this gets too out of hand."  
"Then- how?"  
"Well... they'll die until it'll be obvious who the killer is."  
"But- what if we go first?"  
"Have we been first so far?" Saibara chuckled. "The murderer is obviously going for the younger generations. I thought that'd be obvious to you, boy!"  
"But Barley-"  
"Barley was a fool! Running around in the dead of a winter night in nothing but his pajamas! Ha! He deserved it." Gray simply stared at his grandfather silently, too shocked to say anything.  
"Good night." He whispered, going to his room.  
"Good night, indeed! With a murder on the loose? I think not." He replied angrily, though Gray was already shut tightly in room for the night.

* * *

"It's poison alright."  
"What kind?"  
"What do you mean, 'what kind'! Where would any of us get poison?"  
"I... I don't know?"  
"The area." The doctor inhaled. "I just don't know why no one had performed the autopsy before. Why hadn't someone brought him to me?"  
"They found him..." Harris said, eyes glassy.  
"What?"  
"Lying in the snow in the square. He had passed out. There was... there was a picture next to him."  
"A picture?" Harris nodded. "Who has it now?"  
"I don't know."  
"...Then maybe... maybe who ever has that picture will lead us to his murderer." 


	3. Mordeo: To Cut

Chapter Three:  
Mordeo _v_. To cut into; to pierce or sever with a sharp instrument, usually resulting in death. Latin.

* * *

Elli walked the path, head down. She shivered in the night air, escorted by the doctor. Wind howled through the trees and she gripped his hand tighter.  
"Doctor?"  
"Hm...?"  
"I-" She blushed, looking down. "I'm rather frightened." She shifted the bag of groceries in her arms. "I'm just... glad I have you here." She smiled nervously and the doctor smiled.  
"Thank you for the compliment. Now let's get inside, ok?" 

The doctor opened the door to Elli's house, following her in and setting down his own bag of groceries.  
"Let me check on Ellen really quickly and I'll be right back."  
"No, really... you should go home. Get some rest." He hesitated but nodded.  
"I'm sure she'll be fine." Elli nodded and escorted the doctor out.

But when morning came, two people in the small house did not open their eyes.

"He was so young!" Elli sobbed into the doctor's shoulder. "What do you think- what happened doctor!"  
"Ellen was old. These things happen. But Stu..." His voice cracked and he bowed his head onto Elli's.

* * *

"We have to stop this Harris. Now." Harris simply nodded, eyes glazed over. "What is it?" The doctor whispered.  
"It's just... this whole thing is happening too quickly. We..." His eyes cleared and he looked at the doctor. "Let's get a list of suspects. We have... Elli. She was the only one in the house. And... and Sasha. And Jeff. They were there when- but it just doesn't make sense! No one was in Sasha's house but Sasha and Jeff when Rick and Karen died. Just like no one was in Elli's house when Stu and Ellen died! So... what then? What happened to them doctor? And who's behind this massacre?" 

The doctor hesitated, thinking deeply. He finally took a deep breath. "Maybe... maybe the murderer is striking... beforehand."  
"What?"  
"Poison, Harris. Slow-acting poison." They both stared at each other. "We mustn't let any one know what we're up to. And from now on... for the love of god... guard yourself."

* * *

Thomas walked down the street. The happiness was drained from his eyes. He no longer waved at the people he passed, simply walked quickly, head bowed. He had lost weight, his face sunken like a cadaver's. He stopped outside the church. Glancing around, he entered. 

His eyes opened in horror at what he saw. Carter, Popuri, and Jeff lay on the pews, dead eyes staring up at the cross. All three had bulging eyes and screaming mouths, locked in terror. The mayor stumbled backwards, colliding into someone. He turned and gasped.  
"Y-you!"  
"Me."

A scream shook the church. It was quickly cut off.

* * *

Alex and Harris met at midnight, frantic.  
"Too many deaths. Too little time. How is no one seeing these things? How- why is this happening!"  
"We can't figure this thing out. I wanted to include the mayor... he was-" Harris lowered his head, lower lip shaking. "This can't be happening. Tell me this is a dream. A nightmare. Please doctor I-" The doctor grabbed his shoulders, shaking him roughly.  
"Get a grip! Relax. We will figure this out! I saw it the other day. The picture. I was visiting the library and there it was. I think... I think it's Basil, Anna, or even Mary."  
"You don't think it could that they were framed?"  
"By who? The only other person who goes to the library is Gray." Their eyes met. "We have too much to think about as it is. We should keep our ears and eyes out. We must be-" A scream resounded. They both paused, turning. "What was-"  
"Let's go!" 

The library door was open. Mary lay across the desk, a picture in her hand. Basil's throat was cut. He lay on the ground next to Anna, who was breathing hard.  
"Anna! She's still alive! Anna- Anna speak to us! Who did it? Who!"  
"My... my..." Her eyes glazed over, breathing labored. "My..." Her eyes rolled up into her head and her chest moved no more.  
"My son-in-law? My... husband?" They both looked at Basil, a grimace on their faces. "My what?"  
"I guess we have no clues..."

* * *

There were so many dead that who ever was dead, remained where they lie. The doctor pulled the door closed behind him, Harris walking down the street already.  
"Where are you going?"  
"Isn't it obvious? The killer must've just left! We need to-"  
"No. Not tonight. Did you see that scene? Did you? It was... horrible..."  
"Did you check upstairs...?" A shiver ran up their spine and they glanced up. _The killer could still be in the library. _They looked at each other.  
"Let's go." 

Reopening the door, they glanced again at the bodies. They still lie still, as the dead do. Up the stairs they went, slowly, warily. They turned the corner-

Gray lay across the table, moonlight in his eyes. Harris fell backwards, crying out, but the doctor took a slow step forward.  
"He's dead too."  
"This is insane! It's... It's maddening!"  
"I don't know how much more of this I can take."  
"Well... another list of suspects?" The doctor nodded. "We know it isn't each other. The scream came when we were together. So that leaves... Elli. Duke. Lillia. Manna. Saibara. Sasha. Zack. And Won."  
"Eight people. None with any reason. This doesn't make sense!"


	4. Termino: To End

Chapter Four:  
Termino _v_. To end; to finish something utterly and completely. Latin.

* * *

Duke took another gulp of wine, hunching over the table in exhaustion. He'd drunken one entire bottle and was moving onto the next. His eyes slid in and out of focus. The door rattled. He turned just as the door opened, eyes widening. Dark hair blew in a phantom wind and lightening crackled in the distance.

One swoop and an knife sliced through the air.

Harris and the Doctor were always together, watching their backs. Their faith had switched from the village to each other, though their trust was another story. They slept on different sides of the room, backs to the wall so as to see each other's movements. But they were awake now, staring dismally into the floor as if to create some sanity out of their bleak situation.

"Should we...?" _Check who's dead this morning? _The doctor nodded in reply, dark circles under his eyes. They both stood, walking slowly toward the door.

* * *

"When...?"  
"Sometime in the night..." Manna whispered, eyes red and puffy from crying. "How?" The doctor laughed bitterly.  
"How? How! Look at the knife in his back!" Manna burst into tears and Harris looked away, gulping. "I- I'm sorry." The doctor replied, shocked by his own outburst. "Sorry..." Harris put a hand on his shoulder and nodded, taking a deep breath.  
"Suspects." The doctor nodded and they left, not wishing to disturb Manna further. 

"Manna. Lillia. Elli. Saibara. Zack. And Won. Once again, neither of us could've done it. We stayed up all night. At least I did." A glint of suspicion entered the Harris' eyes as he heard the doctor.  
"All night? What were you doing?"  
"You think I could sleep!" He said in disbelief. "You've got to trust me then! I slept all night and you weren't-"  
"Yes but then you'd be an obvious suspect. So you wouldn't, wouldn't you?"  
"I'm a doctor! I've dedicated my life to the health of this village!" Harris looked down, his face turning red.  
"I apologize. I just- I don't know who to trust any more."

* * *

Lillia took a sip of her tea, her face impassive. She had lost her two darlings, the only things she had in the entire world... she'd lost her daughter, who looked like her, and her only son... her only link to her lost husband. She stared on with dead eyes. She didn't even flinch when she realized the tea she was drinking was poisoned.

* * *

Zack ran down the road. He ran into Harris and, seeing the officer's uniform, began to scream.  
"They're dead! Lillia, oh my Lillia I should've been there!" He crumpled to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Harris put his hand on his shoulder.  
"They?" He questioned softly, looking up at doctor.  
"Won... he's been murdered!" 

"Alright... how did it happen?" The doctor stood over the crime scene, staring down at Won. It looked as though he were asleep. "Poison?" But no... the doctor turned him over and Harris gasped, the doctor flinching. His back had been stripped away and gutted out. They cringed in horror, the doctor swiftly turning him back over and covering his mouth with the back of his hand. He nodded. "Ok then how about Lillia?"

Once at her house, they knew.  
"The tea..." Harris whispered, noting the cup cradled in her hands, stiff with rigor mortis. "Who's doing this?"  
"That's been the question all along. But why can't we stop it? This is... this is... so..." A scream resounded and they fled the room.

* * *

Elli was cleaning the room, doors and windows locked. The dead bodies were in the back of the room, as she had insisted they be moved for health purposes. They had tags on them, ready to be moved to a freezer and eventually cremated. She was just about done cleaning when she heard something. It sounded like raw meat hitting the floor. 

_Slap. Slap. Slap._ It was growing louder. She turned and her eyes widened.  
"Why Elli... it looks as though you've seen a ghost."

She screamed.


	5. Morior: To Die

Chapter Five:  
Morior _v_. To die; to move on, fall dead, cease to exist. Latin.

* * *

The doctor pounded on the door.  
"Elli! Elli please open the door! Open the door! Elli-!" He chocked, sinking to his knees, still rapping on the door weakly. "Please... goddammit..."

* * *

"Elli please open the door! Open the door! Elli-!"  
Though Elli heard this, she was hardly in the position to move. She stared back into the dark eyes, the raven hair falling evenly around her face. Mary. Bookworm Mary. Happy-go-lucky Mary.  
A murderer.  
A dark smirk gleamed from the dead girl's face and Elli cringed back in horror.  
"It's- but- you're dead!"  
"Dead? Oh I'm not dead." She laughed. "You thought I was dead? Oh no." She took a step forward and Elli screamed, turning and running up the stairs. But the dark figure grabbed her hair, pulling her down onto the floor. "Elli, Elli, Elli..." She said with a tsk. "I'm surprised at you. You're around death often, being a nurse. So why so frightened, lamb?" She cooed into Elli's ear.  
"You're not yourself! Demonic!" Elli cried.  
"No. Not demonic. I'm seeing things clearly, even without my glasses." She laughed and Elli kneeled, head bowed.  
"Why. Why did you do it? WHY!" She screamed, fists tightening.  
"I read it in a book, naturally. Agatha Christie's _And Then There Were None_. A brilliant piece. First I started with Cliff. I figured if I was going to murder someone, it was going to be someone who deserved it."  
"Deserved it?" Elli said, voice unsteady. Tears were streaming down her face, disbelief and terror in her eyes.  
"He killed his family."  
"What?" Mary simply nodded.  
"You know that photograph? He accidentally lit the house on fire, burning his family alive. Why do you think he moved so far away? He was going to leave by the end of winter. I never expected Ann's death to come so easily though! I met her after the funeral. We both looked down at the grave and I whispered lies into her ear. She leapt on her own free will. Doug, that was easy too. His gun wasn't loaded."  
"_Wasn't?_" Mary simply laughed.  
"And May! That might've been the easiest! I was out picking herbs and it was Basil and May's day at the spa. She wandered off, I pushed her in. Piece of cake. I told her there was a man in the lake! She looked over and- push!" Elli shook in blind rage and horror, staring down at the tiles. "Oh she was guilty though. Her mom was a whore. She deserved it. And Basil? I was going to let him live. But slow poison's so much fun. I put the wrong herbs at the bottom of the hot springs, he soaks it up... and twenty four hours later and he's face down in the snow!"  
"You're disgusting!"  
"Maybe." She said with a smirk. "Moving on... as I'm so skilled with herbs, in was nothing to simply add an herb to Rick and Karen's wine, making them sleepy. Once they were out, it was a simple matter of using a knife to end it all. And for Gotz... that was tricky. I never knew he was a softie for sweets! But I saw him taking the honey so gently from the hive and naturally, put some slow acting poison in the hive. He pulled out a honey comb and a small taste was enough. It was a lot of work making it seem like he hung himself though! Oh but the most fun-! Popuri, Jeff, and Carter. I shouted I was Mary, come to kill them. Told them it was the apocalypse and they were going to hell!" She cackled delightedly. "I guess they thought I was the Mary from the bible, not the Mary from their town. Idiots. They freaked out. But I had already poisoned their church wine and the wafers, so they died quickly. But as I'm walking out, the fool mayor walked in-"  
"But why? Why did you kill them?"  
"I'm Jewish."  
"What? But- you've gone to church. Even sung in the festival! And... and... that's no reason to kill someone!"  
"It is when that damn pink haired girl finds out!"  
"What?"  
"She found out I was Jewish. She called me an infidel!" Mary sneered. "That bitch deserved to go."  
"You're horrible!"  
"I wouldn't point any fingers just yet, miss guilty one."  
"Me?"  
"You."  
"But- I... what did I do?"  
"We'll get to that... now let's see... where was I? Ah! The mayor! I just killed him with a knife. He caught me off-guard, I must admit. And as for my family, I just killed them. My dad found out. He was going to turn me in, his own daughter. So I killed him. Then I faked my own death, hearing voices outside. But mom almost gave me away. 'My- my" She mocked. "Thank god she died. Anyway, Gray was in on it too, for a while. Up until he thought I had lost it. He was hiding in the library. After they left, I silently killed him. I wanted them to check upstairs, catch him. But they acted too slowly. So I killed him. Little did I know they'd come back and look. I didn't want to kill him..." Her voice wavered and she turned, looking at the ceiling to compose herself. When she turned back, her eyes were like ice. "Duke died easy. Too much wine. I waited until my mom's friends were in the square. Duke's always alone in the day, drinking his life away. So that was easy. I killed him because he cheats. Every other night he goes and meets Sasha. Filth. And as for Lillia, she's trash too. Just a flirt! Always chatting with another man while her husband's away. Poison in her tea. She went fast. I went in looking for Zack to kill too, but only found Won. So I killed him and left quickly." She sneered. Twirling a knife in her hand, she grew closer to Elli. "And now, Elli, is where you come in. You like the doctor, don't you? When he took an oath to celibacy for his work, you tempted him, did you not? You and him are in love, aren't you? How sweet!" She laughed at the look of absolute horror in Elli's eyes. 

"Listen," She went in close to Elli, the knife inches between them. "you little slut, I killed your family. Your grandmother, your brother. It was so _easy_! So easy! Your mother needed to be massaged with lotion every night. And who helps her? Stu. So I put poison in the lotion and skipped away while you were out grocery shopping and they were napping. And now you. You, I'll kill with this." She held up a knife, eyes dancing. "Prayers won't save you, darling."

* * *

The doctor burst through the door, Harris following quickly.

Elli lay on the ground, throat cut open. The doctor sunk to his knees, body racked with grief. He drew her up into his arms, her blue dress stained red, like a cardinal across the sky. He bowed his head and sobbed into her hair, holding her tightly against him.

They checked every where. But the murderer was never found. All the clues, the leads... gone forever. A broken town filled with secrets lay in shambles. Mineral Town became a ghost town; it's remaining residents fleeing the haunted place.

Mary zipped up her body bag, snuggling against her father and mother. She bit into a red herb, eyes slipping happily closed.  
"Goodnight."


End file.
